Wrong Dosage???

[befuddledbedarned]

Has anyone here "EVER" been put on the Wrong Dosage? If So, Now How is that going to effect my outcome, & is it to late to correct this? I am about to have my first Real "Riba-Rage" over this as I feel sure it was my "Nurse Hatchet" That screwed up & gave me the wrong "Pre-Printed" Prescription. I am totally pissed. I am a combo strain of 1a, & 1b, & since I gained that 20 lbs while sitting on my pity pot before TX I should have been on the Max dosage of 1200mg of the Copagus, even now that I have lost that 17 lbs, I should still be on at least 1000mg, & I have been on freakin 800 since I started! (which is for people that are on 24 week treatment for genotypes 2 & 3's)!!! I talked to the Nurses @ Pegasys Hot Line... & they are stumped & concerned, as to why, & how this could have happened... I guess it is an easy oversight, as I have even posted my dosage & med cost in here several times, & nobody picked up on it either. So now my question is... What now??? Increase my dosage & extend my TX for 6 more weeks on the tail end of this? I feel vulnerable & sabotaged!!! Furthermore, I am Soooo Pissed! That's the one BIG thing you don't do is mess with peoples meds, Y'all see how upset folks get when they have to reduce you meds, now imagine how it feels to find that you have been on reduced meds all along (Which Reduces My SVR Rate from 48% down to 41%)Gezz... with my genotype (Especially my combo strain) I need every % I can get! Being us combo strains are so "rare", there just isn't that much data on our success rates as it is! Ahhhh!!!
Vicki

[louisep]

Hey Vicki,
Just e mailed you.
Hang in there sweetheart!
Love & hugs,
Louise

[ringading]

hey there...okay now I'M CONFUSED....i guess the 2 different meds are slightly different in how they are administered....i am on....Pegetron by SCHERING(peginterferon alph-2b ) as well as Ribavirine capsules, 800mg daily, SCHERING.....and this IS weight based even though i am geneotype 3a...the box clearly says

FOR PATIENTS 40kg-<64kg.....hummm don't know what that translates to in pounds, around 100lbs to 165lbs i believe

but....this is the SCHERING PRODUCT....not the PEGASYS/COPAGUS

maybe this is where the difference is...do you think?  i know that pegasys is considered a step up and above from pegetron(schering product) and wonder if maybe this is how the info is differing slightly.....just a thought

[hph5477]

Sounds correct.  I do the mix as well and push .7 air into the sterile water bottle and pull out .7; then insert in the powder bottle and gentle mix; then pull out .5 with the new syringe.
...Good luck with this. I just did 16/48 last week and I still sometimes get a litle nervous mixing the pegintron and then injecting.

[willing]

Hi Ring - ribavirin is ribavirin, Roche and Schering just have different brand names for it. The drug was actually developed by a British pharma which sells it by yet another name. I couldn't find the actual Schering med insert but it looks like <a href="http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic2/rebetol_ids.htm">Schering</a> doesn't mention adjusting riba dose by genotype, which is contrary to the NIH consensus recommendation. I've got to run right now but will post them later.

[DH Bill]

My # 1 question  for doc this thursday is why he had me on 1400 mg copegus for the last 6 months but let the insurance company reduce it to 1200 mg cause thats all they would pay for.
If dose didn't matter then why have me on more of this riba rage drug than I needed, if it does matter why not give me option of paying for what I needed and not just have nurse tell me over phone it SHOULDN'T matter. This is redundant anyway thanks to a wonderful person on this site but I WANT ANSWERS. I will let you all know the outcome Thurs. BTW got letter saying I was approved for both peg and copeg  just waiting now on who I will get it from and how much money it will cost me.
If it's true adversity makes us stonger than when this is done I will be SUPERF%*#INGMAN : )

[tina b]

Thanks, It is all coming back to me clearly now. I give my husband his shots because he too doesn't like to give them to himself. THANKS AGAIN!!!!